Book Review: Sandwich by Catherine Newman

Pages: 240

Genre: Adult Fiction

Pub. Date: June 18, 2024

Publisher: HarperCollins

Source: Publisher for review

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

 

 

Goodreads says, "For the past two decades, Rocky has looked forward to her family’s yearly escape to Cape Cod. Their humble beach-town rental has been the site of sweet memories, sunny days, great meals, and messes of all kinds: emotional, marital, and—thanks to the cottage’s ancient plumbing—septic too.

This year’s vacation, with Rocky sandwiched between her half-grown kids and fully aging parents, promises to be just as delightful as summers past—except, perhaps, for Rocky’s hormonal bouts of rage and melancholy. (Hello, menopause!) Her body is changing—her life is, too. And then a chain of events sends Rocky into the past, reliving both the tenderness and sorrow of a handful of long-ago summers.

It's one precious week: everything is in balance; everything is in flux. And when Rocky comes face to face with her family’s history and future, she is forced to accept that she can no longer hide her secrets from the people she loves."

 

 

Each year, for the past twenty years, Rocky's family rents a ramshackle  cottage on Cape Cod. They have been doing this since the kids were little and now they are in their twenties. Rocky, in her fifties,  has a lot of thoughts regarding life, marriage, her aging parents, her adult children, and what it means to be a woman. Summer at her favorite beach house is the perfect time to think back to summer's past and the secrets that she is still harboring. One thing Rocky knows is that parenting is all about constant change and this summer reminds her of that even more so. Catherine Newman's Sandwich is one of the best books of  the year and if you are a parent or a woman in your 40s or 50s, it shouldn't be missed. It should be required reading!

I adored Rocky from the start. Her witty sense of humor, her outrage at the injustice of things women must endure, and her dedication to her children made me really enjoy her in Sandwich. I think so many women, whether their children are grown or are still young, can relate to all of Rocky's joys and frustrations. Sandwich is filled with flashbacks to when her children were young, which was so relatable and so very laughable at times. In fact, I found myself absolutely cackling with her observations on menopause, marriage, and young children. It felt therapeutic in the sense that I can say no one has written, that I've read in the past twenty years, as honest and raw about what it means to  be a mother, a daughter, and a wife.

But Sandwich isn't all sunny day on the Cape with your family. It includes Rocky coming to grips with her issues as well as a secret she has kept  hidden for years. So, the novel does tackle some difficult topics, but it covers them so well that it never feels heavy since the hefty topics are in between lighter, laugh-out-loud moments.

Sandwich is easily one of my favorite books of the summer, if not the best book of the summer. Newman's writing is outstanding and it reminded me of Patchett in that she can take a slice of life moment and make it so profound. Sandwich should not be missed and I toggled back and forth between the audio, which was narrated by Nan McNamara, who did not disappoint.

My favorite quote from Sandwich that had me nodding: "And this may be the only reason we were put on this earth. To say to each other, I know how you feel. To say, Same. To say, I understand how hard it is to be a parent, a kid."

Is Sandwich on your summer TBR list? Have you read it? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.